For all its surreal, dreamlike qualities, Kafka’s fiction often inhabits the world of ordinary working life. In The Metamorphosis, travelling salesman Gregor Samsa wakes one morning to find himself transformed into some kind of monstrous vermin. Yet one of the first things he thinks about is what an ‘exhausting’ job he has.

The protagonists of Kafka’s two most famous novels both have desk jobs. Josef K. in The Trial and K. in The Castle are white-collar workers – what some social philosophers have called ‘the cognitariat’. They are people whose labour is cerebral; who think for a living.

Josef K. is senior administrator in a large bank; K. is a land surveyor, and both are presented as diligent and respectable workers. In The Castle, K. is so conscientious that he remains bewilderingly determined to carry out his duty as a land surveyor, even after he's informed that he was summoned in error and no surveying is required after all.

In The Trial, Josef K. discovers one morning that he is under arrest ‘without having done anything wrong’. He knows neither what he is accused of nor who has accused him. The two men who turn up at his boarding house to inform him don't know either – their role is merely to tell him. When he is summoned to his first hearing, the courtroom is nightmarishly difficult to find and, once there, nobody else really seems to know who he is or what he is charged with.

Josef K.'s freedom is not limited by his ‘case’ – it doesn't interfere with his job and he seems free to go about his daily business – but a feeling of responsibility looms over everything he does, from his work to his amorous pursuits and social interactions. When no notification comes for him to attend a second hearing, he goes anyway, compelled to face his accusers though he doesn't know who they are. Josef K.'s plight expresses something of what Jean-Paul Sartre meant when he famously wrote that 'man is condemned to be free.'

Kafka began writing The Trial in 1914, just as he had broken off his engagement with Felice Bauer. Many readers are spurred by Elias Canetti's interpretation of the novel, and Kafka's own pronouncement that it was 'her book', to read it as a response to the limitations to his creative freedom and individual self-consciousness that Kafka felt marriage might bring.

For Kafka, institutionalized life – whether the propriety of marriage, the necessity of employment or the system of justice that governs both – have an effect similar to Samsa's transformation. He wrote to Felice: 'beware of thinking of life as commonplace, if by commonplace you mean monotonous, simple, petty. Life is merely terrible… . Often – and in my inmost self perhaps all the time – I doubt whether I am a human being.’

The condemnation of Josef K., and K.’s nightmare-like feeling of the responsibility that ordinary work instils in institutionalized humans sheds light on something Kafka wrote (again to Felice) in 1916: 'To be free from the office is my only possible salvation, my primary desire […] the fever that heats my head day and night comes from lack of freedom, and yet as soon as my chief begins to complain that the department will collapse if I leave […] I cannot do it, the conditioned official in me cannot do it.’

K. and Josef K. show us this 'conditioned official' – and the absurdity of his condition.

Music Theatre Wales perform Philip Glass's operatic adaptation of The Trial in the Linbury Studio Theatre 10–18 October 2014. Tickets are sold out, but returns may become available.

The production is a co-commission and co-production between Music Theatre Wales, The Royal Opera, Theater Magdeburg and Scottish Opera.

Josef K. wakes on the morning of his 30th birthday to find two men have come to arrest him. They do not say for what. Over the next year he desperately tries to find out what he's been accused of, why he's been accused and if there is any way to escape his fate.

A 20th-century Classic

The Trial is one of Franz Kafka's most well-known works. He wrote the novel 1914–15 but never finished it, and it was not published until 1925, a year after his death. Like much of Kafka's work, The Trial is grimly funny in its nightmarish depiction of the futility of human existence.

Music Theatre Wales

Since its creation in 1988, Music Theatre Wales has become a pioneering force in contemporary opera in the UK, and in 2002 became the Royal Opera House's first Associate Company. The company also has a long association with composer Philip Glass, giving the first UK performance of his opera The Fall of the House of Usher in 1989 and in 2010 staging the UK premiere of his In the Penal Colony, also based on a Kafka work. The Trial is Glass's first work created specifically for Music Theatre Wales, and celebrates the company's 25th birthday.

Director Michael McCarthy has described The Trial as 'a parable for any society at any time, and indeed for any individual'. His production, with designs by Simon Banham and lighting design by Ace McCarron, places Josef K. in a space that feels like a social experiment – 'he's going to be stuck in there and we're going to watch him'. To McCarthy, Josef K. is 'a very compelling character: a study of modern man in a state of paranoia'.

]]>http://www.roh.org.uk/news/opera-essentials-philip-glasss-the-trial/feed0Watch: Philip Glass introduces The Trial - ‘It's a wise-comedy that goes right to the heart of social questions'http://www.roh.org.uk/news/philip-glass-introduces-the-trial-its-a-wise-comedy-that-goes-right-to-the-heart-of-social-questions
http://www.roh.org.uk/news/philip-glass-introduces-the-trial-its-a-wise-comedy-that-goes-right-to-the-heart-of-social-questions#commentsFri, 01 Aug 2014 16:43:42 +0000Lottie Butlerhttp://www.roh.org.uk/?p=32142

‘Kafka was way beyond everybody in his vision of what the world was really like,’ says Philip Glass of the author whose work has inspired his new opera, The Trial. ‘[His writing] is so stark, that it’s scary. He thought his writing was very funny but at the same time he saw the political and social world we are involved in with a clarity that very few writers have ever seen.’

The opera, which will be directed by Michael McCarthy and features a libretto by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton, was created specially for Music Theatre Wales, and is Glass’s second ‘pocket’ opera based on the writings of Franz Kafka. It follows In the Penal Colony, which had its premiere in 2010.

'For you as the reader, it's like looking at a picture book,’ says Glass of the process of adapting a Kafka novel into an opera. ‘That makes it easy to stage, because he tells you what to do. Sometimes the music can follow the image exactly, but [occasionally] we start moving away from it, and the further away you get, the more it allows the spectator to participate in the interpretation.’

‘This will be a piece of real entertainment. It’s quite serious, but also hilariously funny. It’s kind of like a wise-comedy, but at the same time, it goes to the heart of social questions.’

Philip Glass’s new opera The Trial, which features a libretto by award-winning playwright and screenwriter Christopher Hampton, will have its world premiere in the Linbury Studio Theatre on 10 October.

It is Glass’s second ‘pocket’ opera based on the writings of Kafka. The story, described by Director Michael McCarthy as a ‘parable for any society at any time and for any individual’, follows a bank clerk who is arrested one day for reasons unknown.

‘A man wakes up expecting to find his breakfast by his bed, and instead finds two men who have come to arrest him for reasons we never discover,’ explains Christopher. ‘He spends the next year desperately trying to find out why he’s been accused… and to escape his fate.’

‘[The audience] will be captivated by the music of Philip Glass,’ says Michael. ‘It draws you in: at moments it is extremely beautiful and subtle, while at other moments, [there is] this driving rhythm moving you forwards. It will be an intensely musical experience.’

The Trial runs from 10-18 October 2014. General booking opens on 15 July. It is a co-commission and co-production with Music Theatre Wales, Theater Magdeburg and Scottish Opera.

]]>http://www.roh.org.uk/news/michael-mccarthy-on-philip-glasss-the-trial-an-intensely-musical-experience/feed0Composer Francisco Coll on Café Kafka: 'To write an opera in the era of cinema, you must find new kinds of narrative'http://www.roh.org.uk/news/composer-francisco-coll-on-cafe-kafka-to-write-an-opera-in-the-era-of-cinema-you-must-find-new-kinds-of-narrative
http://www.roh.org.uk/news/composer-francisco-coll-on-cafe-kafka-to-write-an-opera-in-the-era-of-cinema-you-must-find-new-kinds-of-narrative#commentsWed, 12 Mar 2014 10:00:45 +0000Elizabeth Davishttp://www.roh.org.uk/?p=27935Francisco Coll

In Franz Kafka’s short story The Hunter Gracchus the title character is unable to cross over into the realm of death and is condemned to sail the earth forever, neither dead nor alive. This haunting tale is just one of the Kafka stories that inspired composer Francisco Coll in writing his debut opera, Café Kafka. We spoke to him ahead of the opera’s premiere to find out more.

Why did you turn to the works of Kafka when writing your first opera?When I first started to think about the possible theme of the opera I didn’t have an author in mind, but I did have a strong feeling about an aspect that I wanted to explore – the depth of absurdity. Kafka has been one of my favourite writers since childhood; his work is very connected with the reality of today and how current society behaves. He offers us a mirror, which means we can learn a lot about ourselves from him. But I knew that I didn’t want to set one of his famous novels like The Trial orThe Metamorphosis. Instead, I thought it would be good to create a long, original story from his short stories.

Annabel Arden, who is directing Café Kafka, has said it has the ‘logic of dreams and nightmares’. Is this something that particularly interests you?In my earlier works I was very influenced by surrealism. In a way, it’s quite logical that I ended up writing this kind of opera, having previously written pieces that explore oneiric, or dream-like, aspects. My works Piedras and Piano Concertino are very connected with these qualities.

Meredith Oakes has written the libretto for Café Kafka – how did the pair of you work together?It was very organic and simple – we discussed the short stories from Kafka we wanted to use and then I left it to Meredith. Once she sent me the text and I started to think about the music, I didn’t feel that I needed to make many big musical decisions because it was quite evident which kind of music I needed to use – it was already all there in the text.

What has been the most challenging thing about writing Café Kafka?To write an opera nowadays, in the era of cinema, one needs to try to make it in such a way that it doesn’t become like a plastic commodity. A composer has to deal with the artificiality of the genre by finding new kinds of narrative and new ways of structuring the work.

In 2008 you began studying with the composer Thomas Adès. What effect has he had on your work?
From the beginning, he believed in my work and has showed this in the best possible way – by giving me opportunities. I have a lot to learn from him, and I’m very lucky that I can work so closely with him.

Do you have any plans to write more opera?I loved the experience, so although I don’t have any plans to write another opera at the moment, I am looking forward to doing it again in the future. I'm really excited about Café Kafka!

Café Kafka runs in the Linbury Studio Theatre from 17–19 March 2014 in a double programme with Elspeth Brooke's The Commission. Tickets are still available.

The programme is a co-commission and co-production with Aldeburgh Music and Opera North supported by Arts Council England's Britten Centenary Fund.

‘I think it’s the most extreme way I’ve ever used my body,’ says Edward, ‘We deconstructed a whole human and made it as insect-like as we could.’

The horror of the Gregor’s mutation is emphasized by over ten litres of treacle.

‘Dancing in black goo was completely disgusting,’ continues Edward. ‘At the start it was absolutely horrible, but during the performance it sort of becomes who you are.’ Read the full interview with Ed.

The production was filmed earlier this season and, according to Arthur, it’s ideal for the small screen.

‘The beauty of catching something on film is that you can see it close-up,’ he explains. ‘There are moments that, in a play, would be a five-page monologue… With the cameras, you can really focus on these moments.’ Read the full interview with Arthur.

The Metamorphosis will be also be staged at the Joyce Theater in New York later this year. Performances will run from 17-29 September, with Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson reprising his role as Gregor Samsa.

Arthur Pita's award-winning dance-theatre adaptation of Franz Kafka's The Metamorphosiswill be staged at the Joyce Theatre in New York, with Royal Ballet Principal Edward Watson reprising his role as Gregor Samsa. Performances will run from 17-29 September.

Prior to its US transfer, the piece will be broadcast in the UK by Sky Arts 2 on Monday 27 May at 8pm.

The adaptation has attracted critical acclaim since having its premiere in September 2011; winning Olivier, Southbank Sky Arts and Critics Circle National Dance Awards.

The Metamorphosis tells the story of salesman Gregor Samsa who wakes up one morning as an insect, and is brought to life through innovative and distinctive choreography and direction from Arthur Pita. The piece includes an intense sound-world score by composer Frank Moon.

A new staging of György Kurtág's song-cycle Kafka Fragments premieres in the Linbury Studio Theatre this week. Performed by soprano Claire Booth and violinist Peter Manning, the song-cycle will be brought to life in an imaginative new staging by video artist Netia Jones. We caught up with Netia and Claire during rehearsals to find out more:

Is Kafka Fragments only for fans of Kafka’s work?

Netia: Not at all. One of the reasons why Franz Kafka is one of the great authors is not just the brilliance of his writing and observation, but that the themes that he tackles are timeless. These feeling of confusion, alienation and fear are things that just don’t change; they are easy to understand from any point of view or perspective. In our production, we are trying to create something that is timeless.

Claire: The song cycle is so idiosyncratic that it is accessible for those who feel they know nothing about Kurtág and Kafka.

The piece is composed of 40 miniature works that range in length from 12 seconds to four minutes. Does the cycle work as a unified whole?

Netia: It’s actually very important to me that it’s not a unified whole. Although there is a structure to it, there isn’t a narrative. What Kurtág and Kafka offer is an open-ended question – something unfinished that you can explore. There’s not a solution there, but a space for the question itself. It’s a very beautiful piece of music.

Kafka’s characters often show aspects of his own personality, and Kafka Fragments is composed from his diaries and letters. Do you think the song cycle offers insights into the writer himself?

Netia: We’re not exploring anything biographical, but rather the essence of Kafka’s thinking and his approach to life. Because these fragments are so concentrated and so crystalline, you find themes that are recurrent in Kafka’s work.

Netia, you work a lot with visual projections and video. How are you using projected media in this production?

Netia: We are presenting projected translations of the text all the way through. You have to be able to read and understand the actual fragments to grasp their many layers and to know why Kurtág has set them the way he has. The projections also offer moments of illumination. It’s not just about casting light in a physical sense, but offering visual guidance to enable us to grasp the meaning better: fleeting moments when something is illuminated before the light goes off.

Kafka’s texts are often difficult to translate into English. How do you think they translate to music?

Netia: Kurtág brings Kafka’s texts to life in musical form to reveal the real essence of their author. It’s not often that you see such a perfect marriage of music and text.

In some ways, the translation of the spirit of Kafka into music is easier than into the English language."

Claire: Kafka Fragments works because it is the meeting of two men who, though seemingly unrelated in every way, have so much in common. Both said that their work is about their own experiences of life and, in particular, both distil what they do to its most concentrated form so that every utterance has an intensity, and layers of meaning. The cycle is a real pinnacle of vocal writing in the modern age and so it’s an amazing piece to work on. It demands a lot in regards to performance, but I like a challenge.